Using gradients
Gradients are gradual blends between two or more colors. You can paint, draw, or fill with gradients to create interesting effects or color transitions. You can use gradients to create Web buttons with shadows and highlights, to make objects look shiny or glowing, or to add dimension to objects. You can also use gradients to fade Web page graphics into other content, and you can use a black-to-white gradient as a mask.
The Gradient page in the Material Properties dialog box lets you choose and edit gradients.
For information about editing, creating, and sharing gradients, see Editing gradients and Exporting and importing gradients.
Important! Gradients are available for grayscale and 16 million color–images only. For more information about increasing the color depth of an image, see
Increasing the color depth of an image.
To apply the current gradient
•
On the Materials palette, click the
Gradient button
on the
Style drop-list for the Foreground and Stroke Properties box or the Background and Fill Properties box.
The most recently chosen gradient becomes active.
To choose a gradient
1
On the Materials palette, do one of the following:
•
To choose a foreground gradient, click the
Foreground and Stroke Properties box.
•
To choose a background gradient, click the
Background and Fill Properties box.
The Material Properties dialog box appears.
2
Click the
Gradient button.
3
If necessary, choose a gradient category from the
Category drop-list containing the desired gradients.
4
Click a gradient thumbnail.
5
Choose one or more of the following options:
•
Style — lets you choose a
Linear 
,
Rectangular 
,
Sunburst 
, or
Radial 
gradient.
•
Angle — specifies the angle or direction of the gradient, from 0 to 359 degrees. This option applies to linear, rectangular, and radial gradients only.
•
Repeats — sets the number of times (from 0 to 999) to repeat the gradient pattern
•
Invert — inverts the colors of the gradient
•
Center Point — determines the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the point from which the gradient disperses or radiates. The distance is measured as a percentage of the fill area’s width. You can change the center point to create fills in circles or other shapes in which the center of the gradient is not at the center of the object. This option applies to rectangular, sunburst, and radial gradients only.
•
Focal Point — determines the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the point where the foreground color of the gradient begins. The distance is measured as a percentage of the fill area’s width. You can change the focal point to create fills in circles or other shapes in which the effective light source is not at the center of the object. This option applies to rectangular and sunburst gradients only, and is available only when the
Link check box is unmarked.
•
Link center and focal points — assigns the same values to the center and focal points. Unmark the check box to edit the focal point separately from the center point. This option applies to rectangular and sunburst gradients only.
|
|
|
Save this gradient as a swatch that you can access later |
Click the Add to Palette button. |
Apply the current materials to all tools |
On the Materials palette, mark the All tools check box. If you unmark this check box, the current materials are applied to the active tool only. |
You can also move the center point by dragging the control needle or crosshairs shown in the gradient preview. If you unmark the Link check box, you can move the focal point by dragging the crosshairs on the gradient.
To save an edited gradient
1
On the Gradient page, click
Save.
The New Gradient dialog box appears.
2
Enter a unique name for the gradient, and then click
OK.
To create a gradient
1
On the Gradient page, click the
New Gradient button
.
The
New Gradient dialog box appears.
2
Type a name for the new gradient, and click
OK.
The gradient is created with two markers at 0% and 100% that use the custom color.
For more information about gradients, see Using gradients.
To rename a gradient
1
On the Gradient page, click the
More Options button
, and choose
Resource Manager.
2
In the Resource Manager dialog box, click the gradient that you want to rename.
3
Click
Rename, type a name in the
Rename Resource dialog box, and click
OK.
To delete a gradient
1
On the Gradient page, click a gradient that you have created.
2
Click the
Delete Gradient button
.
3
When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click
Yes.
